Day 4960

My request for credentials was approved with less than two days remaining until the EchoStar Jupiter 3 launch. Jeez. This just isn't going to work. Most flights are already fully booked and the few with remaining seats are ridiculously expensive. I think the weather in Titusville will be OK, but the launch is at night making photography more difficult. All I remember about night launches is getting eaten alive by bugs. Maybe I'm just making excuses. If I really, really wanted to go I'm sure I could make it happen. I'm just not feeling very enthusiastic about anything this summer. Hopefully skipping this launch won't hurt my ability to get credentials in the future.

It's not like I'm doing anything exciting in Dallas on Wednesday. I'm just tired and feeling poor. There have been way too many household expenses this year. Oh, well. There will be other launch opportunities in the Fall. It will be cooler in Florida then and hopefully my enthusiasm will have warmed up a bit.

Today was a typical Monday. We had a very nice sunrise walk with Dawn, but three hours later it was already too hot to spend much time outdoors. The forecast doesn't look very promising. It looks like triple digit temperatures for the next ten days. It's too bad we get most of our rain in early Spring. Summers are often bone dry. We're watering our lawn frequently now, but it is looking pitiful.

Now that the weekend is over, I'm back to eating shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast. I checked my messages after breakfast but my mail is almost entirely spam these days. I didn't get the credential notice from Space X until early this evening. I waited a while before heading to the gym this morning because I've learned that if I go between 11 AM and noon there a much better chance of finding a space in the parking garage.

Today was a little strange. When I went on the court to shoot baskets, one of the trainers seemed to want to shoot with me. He must have been bored or maybe one of his customers didn't show up. I told him I was just shooting free throws, but he kept being encouraging and passing the ball back to me every time I missed a shot. Strangely this made me better. I was eager to get off the court and I made my ten baskets in record time. I'm sure the guy was just trying to be friendly, but he didn't realize what a loner I've become.  At least nobody followed me and encouraged me to walk faster on my three mile excursion around the indoor track.

I tried to stay out of the way this afternoon. Monday is the day Janet cleans the floors and she doesn't like me in the way. Dawn doesn't like me in the bedroom either, so I was stuck in the office for a while. I always feel a bit guilty when Janet cleans. I try to keep the place tidy, but dusting things has never been a priority for me. Cleaning has never been a group activity. I have my household chores and Janet has hers.

Tomorrow will be more of the same. I think this hot weather is going to go on forever. I"ll probably have some regrets tomorrow about skipping the EchoStar Jupiter 3 launch. I'll get over it though. When I finish paying the July bills, I'll realize that I couldn't afford the trip anyway. 

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4959

Not a bad day, even though everything about it was very predictable. We started out with a nice early walk with Dawn. Why can't the weather stay this way all day? The temperature was in the high 70's and there was a nice breeze. It's amazing how quickly things warm up though. The temperature didn't reach 100 degrees today, but it was still a very hot day.

After another big weekend breakfast, I checked my messages and went to the mall. I go mall walking earlier now because the place is quieter and more peaceful. It's surprising how many people go mall walking. It often feels like a normal business day except that the stores aren't open. I've done this so many times that I'm familiar with all the window displays now. Some change weekly and others never change at all. There were quite a few changes today. Maybe stores are already transitioning from Summer to Fall merchandise. It's a mystery how many of the little stores can remain in business. Even when I go to the mall during the week, these stores never seem to have any customers.

It always takes me about an hour to complete my walk. On the way home I usually listen to Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics Radio. Most of what I know about economics comes from listening to this show. Even though I returned home earlier than usual, Dawn was ready to go on her Sunday outing. She knows our routine really well by now, especially when it involves her. It was too hot to take a long walk, but we took a shorter walk in the Sunday park to let her get outside for a bit.

We always end our Sunday outing with a trip to the ice cream store. Technically this stuff is called Frozen Custard, but it tastes like ice cream to me. How much ice cream we get depends on who is serving the cones. Today we got a lot. Dawn loves ice cream, but she is a messy eater. She'd probably love anything that she got to eat in the car.

As usual I didn't do much this afternoon. More bugs seem to be getting into the house this summer. It must be the heat. I had to chase down a wasp and a cricket this afternoon. There are still a ton of things that need attention around the house, but most are projects I've been trying to avoid for years. I hate to paint and sheet rock repairs are so messy. I may end up doing these things myself anyway, just because I hate having strangers around the house. Doing my own repairs will save a lot of money as well.

It's strange that I still haven't heard anything about the EchoStar Jupiter 3 launch. This thing is supposed to take place on Wednesday and credentialing notices still haven't gone out yet. I guess it doesn't matter anyway. I've decided not to go to this one. I really want to see the first Vulcan Centaur launch, but that has been postponed until the end of the year. Oh, well. Winter in Titusville is much more pleasant than Summer anyway.

I have no big plans for tomorrow. No little plans either. So far it looks like it's going to be a long, hot and very uneventful summer.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4958

Today was busy. I surprised myself with how much I got done. I do set the bar pretty low these days though. Maybe I was a bit more energetic because it was cooler today. For the first time in a long time the temperature didn't top 100 degrees. When 90 degrees seems cool, you know it is summer in Texas.

I was hoping to sleep in this morning but Dawn had other ideas. She wanted a walk. It was actually very nice out early this morning. Too bad these sunrise temperatures don't last very long. By the time we finished our big weekend breakfast it was already hot.

I got my grocery shopping finished early this morning and filled the car with gas. My grocery list wasn't long, but I still had to go to several stores. I think grocery store parking lots are more dangerous than most roads these days. People are always racing around looking for the last available parking spot. You've got to be careful or you'll get hit.

When I returned home I defrosted the little refrigerator. I have to do this every few months. It's too bad that these little dorm room refrigerators aren't self defrosting like a regular refrigerator. This thing was supposed to be temporary, but somehow it has become permanent. We can't get a bigger main refrigerator because it fits in a little alcove in the kitchen. A lot of modern refrigerators won't fit in this 1950's sized space. At any rate, a big refrigerator plus a small dorm room refrigerator seems to work just fine.

While the little refrigerator was thawing out, I washed the car. I should just start going to a car wash because cleaning the wheels is harder than it used to be. Whenever I have to kneel down for any length of time, I realize that my knees aren't in very good shape.

Even though the temperature didn't top 100 degrees today, it was still too hot to take my long walk in the park. I went back to the gym again and did my three miles on the indoor track. I was a little slower this morning but I didn't care. No basketball today because other people were using the court. I went back to the store on the way home to pick up a few things I forgot. In retrospect, the day wasn't really that busy, but it was busy enough for me.

I still haven't heard whether I've been approved to attend next Wednesday's Falcon Heavy launch. Approval notices seem to come later and later these days. I guess it doesn't matter because I've more or less decided that I'm not going to bother with this one. It just seems too expensive to make a quick trip to see something I've already seen many times before.

I hate to think what next month's electric bill is going to be. The air conditioner has been running non stop. At least I can do my walking indoors for the rest of the summer. Tomorrow I'll skip the gym and go mall walking instead. Both places are ice cold. I have to wear a long sleeved shirt when I go walking in these places. It remains to be seen whether it will be too hot for Dawn's Sunday outing tomorrow, but we'll go get ice cream cones anyway. We're definitely back to our regular schedule now.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4957

There's a Falcon Heavy launch next week that I'll almost certainly get credentialed for. I don't think I'm going to go. Hmmm. This is new. I never turn down a chance to go to a launch. I just don't feel like it this time. Florida in July is not pleasant and I get eaten alive by bugs on night launches. That's not a good excuse though because Texas in July is not pleasant either. Flights are always fully booked now and I always have to pay a lot more to get a seat when approval notices go out at the last minute. Sometimes it's hard to find a hotel as well. I've already been to a bunch of Falcon Heavy launches and it's getting harder and harder to come up with something to write about. I'm also feeling poor. I've had a lot of large expenses this summer and these launch trips aren't cheap. Do I even really need an excuse? I started doing this for fun, and if it doesn't seem fun anymore, why bother.

When I'm sitting here doing nothing next week I might regret my decision, but there are plenty of other launches to think about. I'm sure I'll return to Kennedy Space Center again. I still kind of envy the guys who live in the area and can easily go to any launch they want on very short notice.

Hey, I can still go to the gym on very short notice. It's open seven days a week now. Unless the temperature cools down a bit, a daily trip to the gym is going to be my summer. No complaints though. I'm staying in shape inside an air conditioned building and keeping the car filled with gas is a lot cheaper than a plane ticket. 

Today was uneventful. The only thing that happened out of the ordinary was that Dawn threw up on the bed and we had to wash all the bedding. She wasn't sick. Sometimes when Dawn drinks a lot of water right after she eats, she regurgitates things. This certainly isn't the first time this has happened. It would be nice if she threw up on the brick floors where it is easy to clean things up. She prefers the bed for everything though. It is her safe space.

I prefer the bed too for afternoon naps. It's more comfortable than napping on the sofa. Dawn must have been in a good mood because she seemed happy to share the bed with me this afternoon. It's supposed to be a bit cooler tomorrow. That would be nice. It's already time for me to make a grocery list again. Janet did her grocery shopping today and of course that made Dawn happy. Dawn loves grocery day.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4956

Another long, hot day. Getting up early didn't really help that much this morning. The temperature was already too hot long before the sun rose. I think others have discovered that this is the best time of the day because there are a surprising number of people out walking before sunrise these days. I'm glad Dawn enjoys these early walks. It's the only time she's active all day.

The replacement for the broken knife rack came today. There was a little note in the instructions that said "don't use with serrated knives." Why? This made no sense, but maybe this was why the old knife rack exploded. We have lots of serrated knives. 

When the mail came there were two letters from the gas company. One letter said my bill was late and the second letter said to ignore the first letter because it was wrong. Strange that both letter came on the same day. I checked and my bill wasn't late. I always pay my bills on time.

I keep meaning to go to Home Depot to get some paint to repaint the trim around the roof and some sheetrock mud to repair some of the minor cracks in the ceiling myself. These things have been on my 

"to do" list for several weeks but I keep avoiding picking up supplies because I don't want to do these tasks. I guess the easy solution with the ceiling is just not to look up anymore. I'd like the house to look nice, but I've grown to hate home repairs. It's still easier to do the work yourself though, because it's so hard to find competent people to do little jobs.

I'm still getting the spoofed e-mail spam that appears to come from my own e-mail address. Should I call my ISP again, or just learn to live with the nuisance?  I've already called twice and tech support said the fixed the problem both times. It appears they actually did nothing. A quick Google search revealed that this is a very common problem that is hard to eradicate. I'm beginning to understand why some of my older friends have just disappeared from the Internet. They're not sick or dead. I think they've just realized that being online is a total waste of time.

I went to the gym after breakfast. I wonder how long it will be before I can take my long walks in the park again? Is it really that important to get at least 10,000 steps everyday? I think that's the only reason I go to the gym. I think I'm in reasonably good shape but I could be fooling myself. My upper body strength is pretty abysmal. A trip to the gym is a good way to kill time though. These days are long enough as is is.

This week has gone quickly. Dawn will be happy tomorrow because it is Janet's grocery day again. I doubt that I'll do anything different. There's a new neighborhood restaurant I could try, but I'll probably just have my shredded wheat and fruit again. This is always a good way to start an uneventful day.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4955

I paid for the water heater today. I hope nothing else breaks this summer. I've had enough. The roofing company people called me this morning and tried to convince me to add solar panels to the house. "Are you kidding," I told them. "I just finished paying for your roof." I guess old houses and unexpected expenses go together, but I'm getting tired of this.

I'm also getting tired of triple digit temperatures. Maybe we've had hotter summers before, but I don't remember any. This heat is relentless and there is no rain in sight. The temperature when we get up in the morning is what the high for the day would be in a normal summer. By the time I finish breakfast it's already too hot to do much outside. I put out water for the squirrels now. I don't know how the animals in the park are surviving.

I'm surviving by staying indoors. I go to the gym instead of walking in the park and if there are outdoor chores I do them very early in the morning. Luckily it's still tolerable just before sunrise so Dawn still gets her morning walks. She didn't go to training class tonight though. It was just too hot.

It's probably good that this blog is slowly winding to a close. I'm really running out of things to say. You know the routine by now. I get up. We walk Dawn. I make the bed. I eat some breakfast and check my messages. I go to the gym, walk three miles and shoot some baskets. Then I return home, eat some lunch and take Dawn outside to pee. In the afternoon I think about things I should be doing and then take a long nap. No wonder I get excited about going to Florida for rocket launches.

Maybe I'll think of something interesting to do tomorrow. I doubt it though. There's a new breakfast restaurant in the neighborhood, but I don't go out for breakfast anymore. The clothing store that I used to write for is having their big annual sale, but I've still got clothes from five years ago that I've never worn. Tomorrow will be very much like today except there's an Amazon delivery scheduled and it's trash day. Even when nothing's happening, you still need to take the week's trash out to the curb.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4954

This heat wave is starting to feel a little apocalyptic. There is no end in sight. We got up even earlier this morning so Dawn could have at least one decent walk. The temperature already was in the high 80's an hour before sunrise. There was a nice breeze though, so I have no complaints. The complaints always come later in the day.

I quietly ate my shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast and then invented a number of small tasks so I wouldn't end up going to the gym too early. I like to go during the lunch hour because it is less crowded then. I watered the plants in the atrium, did a load of laundry, and took some things out to the curb for bulky trash day. I used to spend a lot of time on the computer, but this is becoming less and less rewarding. Now that the computer is no longer a tool for generating income, it is just a way to kill time. I spend too much time checking my Facebook timeline. Why? Half my feed is just ads now. I've learned that sponsored posts are just clickbait. If something in the picture intrigues you, you will never find the answer by clicking on the link. I used to love looking at pictures of people's dogs, but lately most of the dogs on my feed are desperate pleas for fosters or adoptions before the dog gets euthanized at a pound or animal shelter. There are tons of posts about lost dogs. Jeez. If you have a dog, you really need a fenced yard. You should always walk your dog on a leash as well.

Why is modern life so depressing? I hate to even listen to the news on TV these days. The endless political debates are mind numbingly pointless. Anyone who thinks that the Democratic or Republican party has the answer to our problems is a fool. We apparently haven't figured out that wars are pointless as well. There are people in this country just itching to get more involved with the war in Ukraine. Boeing and Raytheon would love to have a wider war. If we haven't learned anything from Vietnam and the pointless wars in the Middle East, we probably never will.  China probably has the right idea. I think they realized they don't need to have a shooting war. They can just poison our minds with TikTok and poison our bodies with strange new viruses.

One good thing about walking is you don't need to dwell on such things. When I'm walking outdoors I just observe the plants and animals. Ducks are surprisingly interesting. When I'm walking indoors at the gym, I do mental math in my head trying to guess exactly how far I've walked without looking at my watch or Fitbit. I don't have deep thoughts when I walk. Those thoughts are reserved for dreams. I'm glad I don't remember my dreams. When I occasionally wake up in the middle of a dream, it's clear that most of them are a little scary.

I need to get a little more creative with my workout. For over two weeks now I've done exactly the same things when I go to the gym. Today was no different. I walk three miles on the indoor track, trying to keep a pace of around 20 minutes per mile. I usually end up walking about an hour. Next I see how long it takes to complete ten free throws on the basketball court. Sometimes I'm quick. Other times I'm embarrassingly slow. My main goal at the gym is just to find a parking place inside the parking garage, so I don't have to park my car out in the sun.

I didn't do a lot this afternoon. Afternoons are for napping or if I get really bored, for monkeying around with the star tracker. I can't even remember what I did this afternoon, but the day went quickly. Tomorrow will be more of the same. Cooler Fall weather can't come soon enough. 

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4953

The temperature wasn't bad when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk, but it didn't take long for it to climb to over 105 degrees. When is this going to end? When I looked at the weather app on my phone it showed triple digit temperatures for the next two weeks. I tried to make the most of the cooler early morning temperatures by finishing mowing the grass in the back yard right after breakfast. That was actually a smart move. By the time I was ready to go to the gym a few hours later, it was already to hot to do anything outdoors. I hate to even think what our electric bill is going to be next month. It's going to be awful.

On the way to the gym I dropped off a few things at the storage warehouse. This trip was depressing because the warehouse is full. I had a hard time finding a place for the few things I brought today. Some of the stuff in storage is useless and could be thrown away, but it's not going to be an easy task. The older stuff is almost impossible to reach because it is hidden behind piles of newer stuff. Some things could be easily sold, but I have an almost deathly fear of interacting with strangers, so I would never put anything on Craigslist or have a garage sale. eBay is too much trouble these days. There are lots of scammers and you have to box everything up and ship it to the buyer. If I had unlimited resources I'd just keep renting additional storage units and let some future edition of Storage Wars deal with the stuff after I'm gone. Does this make me a hoarder? Probably not. The house is still pretty clean and neat.

I'm glad I've got my gym to go to on days like this. They must have some industrial strength air conditioning units because the place is always ice cold, even on days like this. Mondays always seem to be more crowded than other days. I have no idea why. Luckily I found the last covered space in the parking garage today. My gym visits aren't very imaginative. I do the same things day after day. I walk three miles on the indoor track and shoot baskets for about fifteen minutes. My time on the basketball court provides more exercise than you might think. It's probably the most active I am all day.

I spent the afternoon trying to keep out of the way. Dawn didn't want me in the bedroom with her and Janet was cleaning the floors and didn't want me to walk on them while they were wet. I was stuck in the office for a while. The computer used to be entertaining, but there are only three places I visit anymore. I look at Facebook, I read Google news, and I write my blog on Blogspot every night. I should just delete my LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. I never visit those places these days.

I still haven't heard anything about the Falcon Heavy Jupiter 3/EchoStar launch I applied for earlier. It would probably be a blessing in disguise if I didn't get approved. My car insurance is due and I still haven't paid for the new water heater yet. I was hoping that the new roof would be my only big expense this year, but that hasn't worked out very well. It seems like everything is a big expense these days.

We'll have to get up even earlier to avoid the heat tomorrow. It's a shame that Dawn only gets this one early walk a day now. I guess that's better than nothing though. The heat has gotten so bad that the park department is putting out signs along the paths warning people about heatstroke in dogs and the dangers of them burning their paws on hot asphalt of concrete. If history is any guide, things aren't looking good this summer. It is usually hot until October here in Dallas. I spend the day just hoping that our air conditioner doesn't go out or we have a power outage. 

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4952

Life is back to normal. Dawn was so happy to take a walk again this moring. She could have taken a walk with me every day last week, but she's a strange dog. Unless we're both around, she just retreats to the bedroom. It was surprisingly cool this morning. The temperature was still in the 70's when we woke up. If it wasn't for the sporadic rain showers it would have been a good day for a long walk in the park.

After our walk with Dawn we had a big weekend breakfast and then I got ready to go mall walking. Dawn didn't hide in the bedroom today She joined us for breakfast and even got her own egg. It was nice to be back on schedule again. The long list of daily tasks was gone. All I have to remember now is to feed Dawn her dinner and bedtime snack.

I go to the mall earlier now. This leaves more time later in the day for whatever needs to be done. There were very few changes this week. No new stores opened and almost all of the window displays were he same. I'm still surprised at how popular mall walking seems to be. There are almost as many people circling the perimeter before the stores open as there are later in the day. I really prefer mall walking to walking around the indoor track at the gym. You can only really do this one day a week though when the mall opens for business at noon. On most days the stores open too early to make mall walking feasible.

Dawn got her Sunday outing today. There was a light mist when we left the house, but Dawn still got a chance to walk around her Sunday park a bit before we went for ice cream. There was a big line at the ice cream store drive thru this morning. I guess this is what you do on a rainy day. The cones have gotten more expensive, but I still can't think of a better alternative. This definitely beats getting a soft serve cone at Dairy Queen.

The big pile of stuff in the living room is gone. Janet is a wizard at getting rid of things. Some stuff got thrown away. Other things got bagged up to take to a charity resale shop. The few things that remained all found a new place to reside. It's weird. I would have had a much harder time getting rid of this stuff, but I don't miss any of the things that got thrown away.

Since it was much cooler than I expected today, it seemed like a good time to mow the grass. I almost never mow during the afternoon in the summer, but I knew the temperature was going to be much warmer next week. Luckily the mower still had a charge and I was able to finish the front yard before dinner. The back yard is easier. Maybe I'll do that right after breakfast tomorrow.

I don't have any plans for Monday. I need to take a few things to the storage warehouse and fill the car with gas. I'm sure I'll go to the gym. The temperature is supposed to reach 105 tomorrow.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4951

Janet returned home this evening and Dawn is beyond happy. I think a week alone with me is about her limit. For the most part she's been very good, but this morning I was worried enough about her that I almost took her to the vet. She seemed very agitated and tore up her dog bed in the kitchen. Then she tried to hide in all the wrong places, like inside closets and behind the television. I took her outside and she was panting heavily. I don't know whether she had a mild seizure or was just having a panic attack. At any rate after about fifteen minutes she was completely back to normal and there were no problems for the rest of the day. It will be nice to finally go on a walk with her again tomorrow. She has refused to take a walk all week.

The last time Janet went on vacation Dawn seemed to relax as the week wore on. This time she seemed to become a little more stressed with each passing day. She is a very fearful dog and it doesn't take much to get her shivering and shaking. I think today she might have just given up hope that Janet was ever returning and thought she might be stuck with me forever. All is well now though. I hope she remembers that these vacations don't last forever the next time Janet goes someplace. 

Once I was convinced that Dawn was fine I went to the gym. Walking around the indoor track is the only way I'm going to get my steps this summer. It's way too hot to go walking in the park. When I took Dawn out to pee this morning it was already 90 degrees. It didn't take long for the temperature to climb over 100. I didn't stay long at the gym today. I was still a little worried about Dawn and came home as soon as I finished my three miles around the indoor track. I picked up a few groceries on the way home but I'll probably have to go to the store again tomorrow. 

My call to tech support yesterday accomplished nothing. I'm still getting the spoofed e-mail spam that appears to come from me. The person I talked with yesterday sounded pretty convincing and I actually thought the problem was solved. I should have known better. These guys have never really helped me before. Why should they start now. 

I hope Janet has some ideas about how to get rid of the pile of stuff in the living room that used to reside in the utility room. I have no idea where to put these things now that we no longer have a shelf. Our closets are full and the storage warehouse is getting pretty full as well. Some of the things could be thrown away, but at least half the stuff are things we use all the time. All these problems could have been avoided if the building inspector didn't have to inspect new water heaters. The way the shelf in the utility room was attached before worked well for over fifty years. It's a shame that the rules had to change at a time when I've lost all patience with bureaucracies. Getting a new drivers license was a pain. So was getting approved for TSA Pre. I never dreamed that getting a water heater would be a hassle too.

I guess I'm just getting old and grumpy. Dawn and I should get along great because she's old and grumpy as well. Neither of us like dealing with change. All in all, I think we did pretty well this week. We're both glad Janet is back though. It takes a team to keep this house running.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4950

A plumber came by this morning to add a circular flashing around the hole where the vent from the water heater went through the ceiling. He said this would be necessary when the building inspector arrived later in the day. About two hours later the inspector arrived, spent about a minute looking at the installation with a flashlight, and said everything was up to code. He handed me a little receipt saying that everything was OK and told me to keep it in a safe place. It was unclear why all this was necessary until the inspector told me what he sees sometimes. "You wouldn't believe it," he told me. "I found a guy two weeks ago storing gasoline for his lawn mower right next to the gas water heater." I thanked the guy for coming out and kind of wished he would inspect my new roof too.

This week has gone quickly. I follow a list every day to make sure I don't forget anything with Dawn. I think she appreciates it that I do everything in exactly the same order as Janet does. The only real difference in our schedule is that we sleep in later now. I can see no reason to get up early. The day is long enough as it is.

It's still a mystery to me why Dawn won't come out to the kitchen and eat her breakfast. It's really hard to get her off the bed in the morning. She would eagerly follow Janet around in the mornings, but I guess this is different. The only time she acts normal now is when I'm doing something that was always part of her daily routine. When I fix her dinner at 5:15, she runs right out to her bowl in the kitchen and eats normally.   She does the same thing for her bedtime snack. Breakfast is a tough one though. I had to feed her breakfast in bed again this morning and then stay out of sight while she ate.

It was way too hot for a walk in the park this morning, so I went to the gym again after I finished with the building inspector. I like going to the gym around lunchtime because there are fewer people at this time of day and I have a better chance of finding a parking place in the covered parking garage. My routine has been exactly the same for several weeks now, but that's fine by me. I walked three miles on the indoor track and shot baskets for about fifteen minutes before I headed home again. My pace on the track was good today. I like seeing progress. My elapsed time on a good day is often four minutes faster than on a bad day.

I always try to get Dawn to eat lunch with me, but so far she just stays in the bedroom. She will go outside and pee though. I guess this seems normal to her, because I'm often the one who takes her outside when Janet is home. It's clear that Dawn doesn't want anything new in her life. She trusts Janet, but when I'm here by myself she reverts to kennel mode. Sadly, I will probably always be a kennel attendant to her.

I called my Internet Service Provider this afternoon and asked if they could help me stop the people who were spoofing my e-mail address. The tech support person I talked to knew exactly what I was talking about. Evidently spoofing is a common way to send spam. Tech support said they made several changes on my mail server that should prevent unauthorized people from spoofing my account. We'll see if this works. With any e-mail changes it can take up to 24 hours before the change propagates through the Internet. Hopefully tomorrow the spoofing deluge will stop.

I still don't know what I'm going to do with all the stuff that used to be on the long shelf in the utility room. Now that the shelf is gone, it's all sitting in a pile on the living room floor. Janet likes to declutter and throw things away, so  hopefully she can make this pile a lot smaller when she returns home. Maybe I'll still think about building a new smaller shelf, but it would be a lot easier to just get rid of most of this stuff.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4949

It's been a long day. Two plumbers have been here all day installing the new water heater. I never dreamed that putting a water heater in a confined space was such a complicated procedure. Due to new code requirements, the plumbers couldn't simply duplicate the old arrangement. New water heaters have to be installed on a raised base with an overflow pan that drains to the floor drain. Too many things use the floor drain in the utility room already. Now I've got one more. 

The plumbers told me that I could no longer use the copper pipes at the top on the water heater to support a shelf. I have no shelf in the utility room now and no place to store the things that were sitting on it. The new water heater is slightly larger than the old one and takes up more space, but the good news is that we have hot water again.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but the price of water heaters has more than doubled since the last time I replaced one. The plumbers were amazed at how old the leaking water heater was. "Your new one won't last that long," the lead plumber told me. I wonder what else can go wrong in this house? Probably more things than I can even imagine.

Dawn is still frightened of almost everything, but she is eating her meals and going outside to pee and poop. That's all I can ask for at this point. She was actually very good today with all the commotion going on in the house. She just stayed in the bedroom all day until the plumbers left. I was a little worried last night that Dawn wasn't coming back to the bedroom to go to sleep. We had a very brief power outage and when the lights and TV went out, it scared her and she ran to the kitchen. Basically everything seems to scare Dawn except plumbers. She seemed fine with the plumbers today.

Since I was home with the plumbers all day, I didn't get to go to the gym. It wasn't a good day to take a long walk since the temperature got up to 104 degrees. I'm hooked on getting my steps though. After dinner I took this week's trash out to the curb and then took a short walk. I walked just long enough to get 10,000 steps and returned home. No sense in being stupid. I thought it would be cooler if I waited until evening to walk. It was still 95 degrees though.

Somebody has spoofed my e-mail address and I'm seeing spam that appears to come from me in my spam folder almost every day. It's irritating. I did a little research and discovered that this type of spoofing is extremely common and very hard to stop. I'll call my hosting company again and ask them to put a stop to this. I did this once before and the spoofing stopped for about two weeks and then started all over again. I'm beginning to think that my Luddite sister who isn't on the Internet at all might have the right idea. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be uneventful. Having plumbers banging around all day in one room with a scared dog in another room was a bit stressful. I'll be glad when Janet returns home.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4948

Not the best of days. It was 104 degrees this afternoon, our water heater started leaking and will need to be replaced, and my application to attend the Orion Media Day at Kennedy Space Center was denied. Other than that, it was just a normal Wednesday.

Dawn regressed a bit this morning. I had to put the bowl with her breakfast next to her on the bed again. She didn't want to move and is still fearful about everything. Dawn definitely isn't getting her exercise this week. She goes out in the backyard to pee several times a day and I managed to get her down to the park this morning to poop, but all she wants to do is sit on the bed.

It was too hot for another walk in the park today, so I went back to the gym after breakfast. There were people on the basketball court, so all I did was walk three miles around the indoor track and return home. I tried to find a replacement for the broken knife rack at Bed Bath and Beyond on the way home, but the store is going out of business soon and there wasn't much left. I'll have to look for the knife rack online.

I did find orange juice at Central Market, so at least I could check something off my list. When I returned home I got a rude awakening. There was water on the floor in the utility room and it was spilling out into the kitchen. I was initially puzzled since I hadn't done any laundry recently. A quick look revealed that the water was coming from the water heater. It looked like the place where the supply lines enter the heater had rusted out. 

I shut off the heater to stop the leak and we have no hot water now. A plumber is coming out tomorrow to look at things, but he pretty much confirmed that I'll need a new water heater after looking at the pictures I sent him. He also told me that the shelf that is currently above the water heater will have to be removed because it won't pass current building codes. This was a new wrinkle. The last time I replaced this water heater you didn't need a city inspection. Water heaters have gotten a lot more expensive too. Why is nothing easy anymore? I'm going to have a hard time even finding a water heater that will fit in our tiny utility room. The size and shape of these things has changed over the years.

I'm disappointed that I didn't receive credentials to attend the Orion Media Day at Kennedy Space Center, but the rejection might be a blessing in disguise. Instead of paying for a trip to Florida this month, I'll be paying for a new water heater instead. Hopefully the plumbers can take care of everything tomorrow. I hate being without hot water.

Hopefully nothing else breaks and there is no more bad news tomorrow. At least Dawn ate her dinner normally tonight. I'll feed her a bedtime snack soon and then we'll call it a day. 

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4947

Dawn was a little calmer today. We're making slow progress. She still wouldn't come to the kitchen for breakfast this morning, but she did get off the bed and eat from her bowl when I placed it on the bedroom floor. Dawn is pretty good about going out in the back yard when she needs to pee. She's still reluctant to go down to the park though. Unfortunately this is still necessary because it's the only place where she will poop. A walk is out of the question. She does her business quickly and then tries to get back to the house as fast as she can. The bedroom is her safe place. I think Dawn knows that Janet hasn't gone out for groceries by now. She's stopped waiting by the front door. She started letting me nap with her for a while in the afternoon. In her own weird way maybe she appreciates my company.

It was surprisingly cool today. The weather radar showed lots of rain to the north of us, but very little reached our part of town. All we got were a few light sprinkles. This seemed like the perfect type of weather to skip the gym and take a walk in the park. The park hasn't changed much since I've been away, but it was still nice to be walking outdoors again. It's an entirely different experience when you can feel the wind and smell nearby flowering trees. Most of the wildflowers have gone to seed by now, but the park is still green and full of life. I enjoyed my walk.

I was surprised that my pace was faster than it's typically been on the indoor track at the gym. Maybe having something to look at put a spring in my step. Most of the migratory birds have gone north for the summer, but there are still quite a few mallards and bluewinged teal, along with our five resident geese. I didn't see the muscovy ducks today, but I'm sure they are still in the area. They tend to stay hidden in hot weather. There were surprisingly few people in the park this morning. I thought more people would take advantage of the cooler weather. Maybe everyone was afraid it was going to rain. There were dark clouds overhead, but I didn't get wet at all. Maybe I just got lucky.

I'm not sure I trust my Fitbit. Even though I walked quite a bit faster and further today, I supposedly burned about the same number of calories as I typically do at the gym. My heart rate wasn't any faster either. Even when I was walking up hills. I should probably just quit looking at the Fitbit and Apple Watch so much. I know walking is good for you and I do a lot of walking. I'd like to go walking in the park again tomorrow, but it's looking doubtful. The weather forecast says it will reach 104 degrees on Wednesday.

I still can't think of much to do in the afternoon. Luckily I'm well versed in doing nothing and enjoy napping. It's nice that Dawn will let me nap with her now. We both got a surprise when we heard a loud clattering noise in the kitchen. When I went out to investigate, I discovered that the knife rack had broken and all the kitchen knives were scattered on the kitchen floor. It's a good thing we were back in the bedroom. 

I've been going to bed earlier, although I'm still not getting any more sleep. It would be nice to get eight hours of sleep sometime, but I seemed to be programmed to get five. No matter when I go to bed I always seem to get five hours of sleep. Not to worry though. If you count naps, I'm certainly not sleep deprived. I'm kind of envious of Dawn. Nobody gets more sleep than that dog. She seems happy though. Maybe she's been wanting a quiet, peaceful room of her own for her entire life.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4946

We made it through our first day. I hate to see Dawn sad, but if she had her way, neither of us would ever leave the house. As I expected, Dawn refuses to take a walk and seems nervous even going outside to pee. At least she is still eating. Dinner and her evening snack are fairly normal because I've always fed her those meals. Breakfast is a bit of a challenge though. Typically Dawn gets up with Janet and follows her out to the kitchen. Janet takes her outside to pee and fixes her breakfast before I'm even out of bed. Now she doesn't know what to do.

She refuses to come out to the kitchen and eat breakfast with me. She won't even get off the bed while I'm trying to make it. The last time Janet went on vacation Dawn would eat her breakfast if I left her bowl on the bedroom floor. That didn't work today. I eventually had to place the bowl on the bed with her and then leave the room. Ten minutes later the bowl was empty and she got her morning meds. 

I wish I could tell Dawn that everything is going to be OK and that Janet will be back soon. It doesn't work that way though. Dawn will act like she lost her only friend until Janet eventually walks through the front door again. I guess it all makes sense in a weird way. Dawn spent most of her life as a breeding dog in a kennel run by two older men. I don't think she will ever trust men. Janet was the one who rescued her while I was away at a launch in Florida. They bonded immediately and in Dawn's mind I'm probably just Janet's assistant. We do the best we can when Janet is away, but she's always been a nervous dog. I do think Dawn is trying and I understand as well. I get nervous too when life throws me a curve ball.

It's still too hot for my long walk in the park, to I went to the gym again after breakfast. I had to walk a little further on the indoor track because there was no sunrise walk with Dawn. I got my steps though and shot some baskets before I returned home again. I thought Dawn might come out and join me for lunch because she always gets some sliced turkey with Janet at lunchtime. Dawn loves sliced turkey. I got the turkey out and called her, but Dawn still refused to leave the bedroom. Oddly, she was happy enough to go out in the back yard with me after I finished my sandwich. This is something we always do, so I guess it seemed normal to her. Dawn loves to lounge in the sun and roll in the grass. We stayed outside for about ten minutes and then Dawn was off to the bedroom again.

We'll follow this weird little routine for the rest of the week. Dawn still needs her bedtime snack, but I know she'll come out and eat that. This is something we do every evening. We'll take a final trip outside to pee before bed and then she'll reluctantly let me join her on the bed after I get finished with today's blog post. I don't know how she can spend so much time on that bed. Even I have my limits when it comes to napping.

At least it didn't rain today. Rain would only complicate things further because Dawn doesn't like to get wet. It's hard enough to get her to go outside and pee as it is. I don't think she's drinking enough water either, but I make sure her bowls are always filled with fresh water. Jeez. How do you make a dog drink water? Dawn will gradually adjust to things as the week rolls on. It's a slow process though. I wish I could make it easier for her.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4945

Dawn is still nervous because Janet is away, but we're doing OK. She's eating her meals and has had her evening meds. I think taking a walk is a lost cause, but we'll give it a try tomorrow morning. I hate seeing Dawn sad like this, but I think she knows Janet will return. We've been through this routine before.

The day started normally enough. We took a nice sunrise walk and then had our big weekend breakfast. The temperature was a little cooler this morning, but it's still obvious that this is July in Texas. I've been hoping that it would cool down enough for me to start walking in the park again, but this wasn't going to be the day.

After Janet left for the airport this morning, I made sure Dawn was OK and then went mall walking like I normally do every Sunday. The mall was a little more crowded this morning because it was closer to opening time when I arrived. No new stores this week and very few changes in the store windows. I made my five loops around the mall perimeter and then came home again. There was a long line waiting to get in the new Tecovas store. It was either their Grand Opening or they were giving away something. I didn't join the line. I haven't worn cowboy boots in years.

When I returned home I filled out an application for credentials to attend the Echostar Jupiter 3 launch. This is another Falcon Heavy launch. I've seen quite a few of these already, but they are always interesting and it is often easier to get credentials directly through Space X than it is with NASA. We'll see what happens. The upcoming launches I really want to see don't take place until later in the year or early 2024. Until then, I might as well do something to pass the time.

I hope Dawn calms down soon. When she's nervous it makes me nervous as well. I always worry that she might get stung by a bee or need to go to the vet for some reason. She's never ridden in my car without Janet nearby. She rarely rides in my car at all, since we usually take Janet's car when Dawn is with us. At any rate, getting her in the car would not be fun. It probably won't be a problem. I suspect that Dawn will just sit on the bed for most of the week.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing next week. I have a feeling that it's going to be a slow week. I've got my list of things I need to do with Dawn every day, but almost everything else has been taken care of. I got my new drivers license and have TSA Pre now. My passport doesn't expire for several more years. There are no doctor or dental appointments for quite a while either. It's a shame I'm no longer in demand as a writer or web designer. Having a deadline to meet every day sure made the days go faster.

It's pretty quiet around the house now. I'll go to bed earlier and get up a bit later, but the days will be more or less the same. There will be shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast and a trip to the gym. If I'm lucky, maybe Dawn will take a short walk tomorrow.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4944

It was quite pleasant on our sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. It was overcast, the temperature was in the low 80's and there was a nice breeze. I was seriously considering taking my long walk in the park today because the weather seemed better than it has been for several weeks. Then the sun came out. By the time we finished breakfast this morning it seemed like a completely different day. I would be returning to the gym again.

First things first though. I had grocery shopping to do. As luck would have it, a lot of things on my list weren't available today. Sam's Club didn't have strawberries. Central Market didn't have any orange juice and their strawberries didn't look fresh. Their juicer must have been broken because there were very few fresh squeezed juices at all. My favorite beer has totally disappeared from the market as well. I had trouble finding the brand last week and this week it had disappeared from all the stores. I have this problem a lot. Frequently things I like aren't terribly popular. Store routinely drop items that don't sell well now. They look at register data and only restock the items that are selling best. That's why a lot of stores are full of unhealthy food.

Since I had to scrap my plans for a walk in the park, I headed back to the gym after I put the groceries away. I tried to get Dawn to go outside an pee before I left, but she had no interest. Dawn doesn't like the heat. She's a smart dog. I don't like the heat either.

The gym is always pretty empty on weekends. It's a very large space, but their were only about half a dozen people on the floor today. My workout was the same as it's been all week. I walked briskly around the indoor track for three miles and then spent fifteen minutes on the basketball court. One of these days I'm going to have to start working with weights again, but that can wait. When I get my Fitbit steps and close all three rings on my Apple Watch activities app, I'm ready to go home.

I stopped at another grocery store on the way home because I started thinking that hot dogs would be good to have for dinner while Janet was away. I got uncured Wagyu beef hot dogs with no Nitrites or preservatives. They were still hot dogs though. Definitely not the healthiest meat, but very tasty. I don't understand grocery stores anymore. The checkout clerk asked if I brought my bag with me. What? I was confused and told the clerk to just put my items in one of their bags like they usually do. Janet told me later that this store charges for plastic bags now and had added ten cents to my bill. It seems weird that they are trying to cut down on pollution by eliminating plastic grocery bags, while literally everything in the store comes packaged in plastic.

When I returned home I did a load of laundry, paid some online bills, and took a nap. Dawn actually stayed with me on the bed which was a surprise. I've got a lot to remember while Janet is away. She takes care of giving Dawn her meds, filling water bowls several times a day, and fixing Dawn's breakfast. I feed Dawn dinner and her late night snack. Janet packages all Dawn meds in little baggies labeled for morning and evening on each day she is away on vacation. When I give the pills, I put a check mark on the calendar. With Dawn you have to do everything in the right order. I need to remember that she goes down to the park to poop after breakfast, never before. I do the same thing after dinner. Hopefully she will come out to the kitchen to eat her breakfast this time. The last time Janet went on vacation I had to bring her breakfast back to the bedroom and then stay out of sight while she ate. Dawn is a picky, stubborn dog who is set in her ways, but I still think she's great. We'll do OK next week.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day